New Utility-Scale Solar Power Plant Developed

Starwood Energy Group Global LLC and Arizona Public Service Co. signed a Power Purchase Agreement, a precondition to Lockheed Martin’s involvement to design and build a 290 mw concentrated solar power plant that will bring more utility-scale renewable energy to Arizona.

The project, named Starwood Solar I, will be owned by an affiliate of Starwood Energy. Lockheed Martin will serve as the project’s engineering, procurement and construction contractor. To support the project, Lockheed Martin will leverage the expertise gained from its solar energy testbed, a full-scale solar collector assembly in Moorestown, N.J.

The PPA signing is the next step in building one of the world’s largest CSP plants. The project is scheduled for completion in 2013, pending regulatory approval.

Starwood Solar I will be constructed on 1,880 acres that will contain more than 3,000, 100-m parabolic troughs. The plant will be built in the Harquahala Valley, approximately 75 mi west of Phoenix and will produce enough electricity for nearly 73,000 APS customers.

The facility’s solar technology will use parabolic mirrors to track the sun and focus the sun’s heat on a heat transfer fluid, which will transfer its heat energy to water, creating steam. The steam is then used to run conventional steam turbines to create electricity. The heat energy in the fluid also can be stored and used at a later time to generate electricity when most needed by APS’s customers.

Chandler City Hall Breaks Ground

Chandler City Hall, Chandler, Ariz. (Rendering courtesy SmithGroup)

The City of Chandler broke ground on the new Chandler City Hall facility at Arizona Avenue and Chicago Street.

The 131,000-sq-ft, $47 million facility will replace the leased office space employees have been working in for over 10 years. The project is designed to achieve LEED gold certification with completion scheduled for fall 2010.

The complex is designed by SmithGroup as a ‘walkable’ campus with parking facilities close to the most commonly accessed departments which will be located on the first floor of various buildings throughout the site.

An art gallery that doubles as a community room will also occupy 4,000 sq ft of space on the ground floor while a covered terrace above the city clerk’s office, and under the office tower portion of the building, will offer a shaded area for outdoor events.

The new council chambers will be an iconic element of the campus plaza, clad in glass and glowing at night. A central breezeway serves as a prime connector of the plaza and is an extension of the central lobby. The design also promotes pedestrian connections to AJ Chandler Park to the north, the civic campus to the east and a future mixed-use development to the west.

The construction manager at risk is Sundt Construction.

Subaru Superstore Breaks Ground

The design/build team of Robert Brown Architects and Colton Constructors began construction on the Subaru Superstore of Chandler at the Chandler 202 Autopark. The two-story 38,225-sq-ft facility, set on 6.7 acres, will become Arizona’s largest Subaru dealership.

The team worked closely with the client to create a dealership that combines not only the Subaru flagship concept, but also incorporates the spatial relationships and functionality the dealer is accustomed to. The site boasts over 400 spaces for display and inventory vehicles, as well as customer and employee parking. The air-conditioned service department and detached detail building will house 16 service, five detail, two wash and two vendor bays. Access to service will be via four drive lanes under canopy.

The building’s exterior is based on Subaru’s standard imaging program. After the initial concept was established, RBA and Colton adjusted materials and elements to better adapt the facility to the climate as well as the owner’s budget. The showroom exterior consists of aluminum composite metal panels, EIFS, and a thin veneer slate icon tower and wainscot. The service portion of the building and the detail building have been designed with charcoal split-face CMU accented by a gray vertical score CMU band as a continuation of the banding created at the showroom between the ACM panels and the EIFS. The entire facility will be covered with a spray foam roofing system resting above metal decking and steel joists.

Colton plans to complete construction of the facility in November at an estimated construction cost of $4 million.

EPA Grants to Fund Contaminated Land Cleanup

The Environmental Protection Agency has made $111.9 million in grants available including some funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, to help communities clean up sites known as “brownfields,” which may be contaminated by hazardous chemicals or pollutants.

Arizona applicants selected to receive funds include: the City of Flagstaff, receiving $126,900 for the Route 66 Creosote Pit Cleanup and Redevelopment Project; City of South Tucson, $400,000 for a community-wide assessment; City of Miami, receiving $200,000 to cleanup the Fitzpatrick/Barcon site; and City of Tucson, $200,000 to cleanup the Old Fort Lowell Restoration property.

More ARRA-Funded ADOT Projects Awarded

Nine new ARRA-funded highway projects were awarded construction contracts by the State Transportation Board. Nearly all bids for these projects were well under estimates by ADOT, producing an estimated cost savings totaling $4.3 million.

The newly approved projects include: $1.9 million pavement preservation on S.R. 83 to be performed by Granite Construction Co.; $2.5 million U.S. 191 pavement preservation south of Chinle also by Granite; $5.5 million I-10 pavement preservation from East Benson to Johnson Road in Cochise County with FNF Construction; and $5.8 million I-40 roadway reconstruction at Walnut Canyon in Coconino County with C.S.&W. Contractors.

So far, the bid process has resulted in a considerable cost savings for ADOT, as the struggling economy and lower materials costs work in favor of lower bids for projects. Nearly all of the advertised ARRA projects are coming in under ADOT estimates. The 25 projects that have received apparent low bids have come in at nearly $17 million below estimates.

To submit New Mexico, Arizona or Nevada news items or press releases, email the editor at scott_blair@mcgraw-hill.com.